Zhang Fei, one of the Five Tiger Generals of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period, ranked second only to Guan Yu. When Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao, Zhang Fei stayed behind to cover the retreat at Dangyang Changban. As Cao's troops approached, Zhang Fei stood at the head of a broken bridge, eyes blazing, gripping his spear and reining his horse, and roared, "I am Zhang Yide! Who dares to come and fight me to the death?" Intimidated by Zhang Fei's fierce presence, not a single soldier dared to challenge him, allowing Liu Bei to escape danger.
After the Battle of Red Cliffs, the tripartite balance of power was largely established. Finding it difficult to expand his ambitions in Jingzhou, Hubei, Liu Bei heeded the advice of his strategist Zhuge Liang and deputy strategist Pang Tong to march into Western Sichuan. Initially, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu guarded Jingzhou while Liu Bei and Pang Tong led the western campaign. However, when Pang Tong was killed mid-journey, Liu Bei had no choice but to summon Zhuge Liang to personally lead the campaign, leaving Guan Yu alone to defend Jingzhou.
Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei sailed upstream, dividing their forces to conquer the commanderies. Zhang Fei led ten thousand troops along the main road westward, sweeping all resistance aside until they reached Jiangzhou in Ba Commandery (present-day Jiangbei County, Sichuan). There, the elderly Ba Commandery Governor Yan Yan held the city and refused to surrender. Zhang Fei sent a messenger demanding his swift capitulation, but Yan Yan ignored the summons.
Yan Yan, knowing his martial skills were no match for Zhang Fei, ordered his soldiers to shut the city gates tight and hold their ground, planning to drag things out until Zhang Fei's supplies ran out and he had to retreat. When Zhang Fei saw that direct attacks weren't working, he used his rough-and-tumble wit: one night, he devised a trick to lure Yan Yan out of the city and captured him. With that, Zhang Fei took control of Bazhou City.
Zhang Fei sat sternly in the main hall and ordered his soldiers to bring in the captured general Yan Yan. When Yan Yan refused to kneel, Zhang Fei bellowed, "I have led a great army here—why do you not surrender, and instead dare to resist with force?" Yan Yan showed no fear and replied, "You are utterly unreasonable, invading our prefectures without cause. In this Ba Commandery, there are only generals who would rather lose their heads than surrender!" Enraged, Zhang Fei ordered Yan Yan executed. Yan Yan calmly said, "If you're going to cut off my head, then cut it off—why the anger?"
Zhang Fei, deeply impressed by Yan Yan's courage, immediately released him, treated him as an honored guest, personally untied his bonds, and offered a sincere apology on the spot. From that day forward, the two became close friends.
Later, the idiom "General with a Severed Head" came to describe commanders who resist resolutely and would rather die than surrender.
Source: *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, Book of Shu, "Biography of Zhang Fei"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "断头将军" came to describe how commanders who resist resolutely and would rather die than surrender.